badly

American  

[bad-lee] / ˈbæd li /

adverb

worse, worst

1. in a defective, incorrect, or undesirable way.

   The car runs badly.

2. in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner.

   a vague, badly written letter; He paints badly.

3. unfavorably.

   His neighbors spoke badly of him. The weather turned out badly for the cruise.

4. in a wicked, evil, or morally or legally wrong way.

5. in a disobedient, naughty, or ethically or socially wrong way.

   He treats his parents badly.

6. very much; to a great extent or degree.

   a house badly in need of repair; to want something badly.

7. severely; direly.

   to be injured badly.

8. with great distress, resentment, regret, or emotional display.

   She took the news of her mother's death badly.

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adjective

1. in ill health; sick.

   He felt badly.

2. sorry; regretful.

   I feel badly about your reaction to my remark.

3. dejected; downcast.

idioms

1. badly off.  bad.

badly British  

/ ˈbædlɪ /

adverb

1. poorly; defectively; inadequately

   the chair is badly made

2. unfavourably; unsuccessfully; unfortunately

   our scheme worked out badly

3. severely; gravely

   he was badly hurt

4. incorrectly or inaccurately

   to speak German badly

5. improperly; naughtily; wickedly

   to behave badly

6. without humanity; cruelly

   to treat someone badly

7. very much (esp in the phrases need badly , badly in need of , want badly )

8. regretfully

   he felt badly about it

9. poor; impoverished

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adjective

1. dialect  (postpositive) ill; poorly

Usage

In the sense “very much,” badly is fully standard: He needs help badly. See also bad ¹.

Etymology

Origin of badly

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English baddeli, baddeliche, badli(che) “wickedly, evilly, poorly”; bad ¹, -ly

Example Sentences

I used to boast I could do the job equally as badly as a lot of other managers.

From BBC

At the re-start, the drivers had enough time for a flying lap, but Norris abandoned after starting badly.

From Barron's

Venezuela badly needs those products to produce fuel and pump its own heavier oil for export to China.

From The Wall Street Journal

New York City was badly affected, with extensive looting, and was under curfew for a week in June.

From The Wall Street Journal

He would scoop up millions of unused internet protocol, or IP, addresses, mostly from Africa, and lease them to companies, mostly outside Africa, that need them badly.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• deeply
• greatly
• hard
• painfully
• seriously
• severely